The Challenge: Targets Without Measurement

Most portfolios have a net zero pathway or certification target. Fewer can say what an individual asset consumed last month, how that compares to last year, or which buildings are underperforming. Targets have outpaced the ability to measure progress, creating a credibility gap in ESG delivery.

The instinct is often to reach for more technology. But sensors, smart systems and digital twins only add value if they answer the right questions. Owners first need to know what they need to measure, why it matters and how they will use the data.

Define: What Performance Means, and Why It Matters

Start with the outcome, then identify the data needed to support it. That could mean energy intensity for valuation, wellbeing metrics for leasing, or disclosures required by GRESB, CDP or other frameworks. When done well, data collection becomes more than compliance and helps to protect and enhance asset value.

Understand: The Analogue Building, and Why Most of Real Estate Still Lives There

Many assets still rely on manual meter readings, paper records and fragmented systems, creating gaps and inconsistencies across portfolios. Before investing in sophisticated technology, owners need visibility of the fundamentals: energy, water, occupancy and condition. Submetering, smart meters and leak detection can provide the asset-level visibility needed to identify waste and target interventions. As buildings become more connected, cybersecurity must also form part of the strategy.

Improve: Data is Not the Value, Action Is

A dashboard full of data changes nothing. Its value lies in identifying where a building is underperforming, understanding why and deciding what to do next.

Too often, organisations move from data collection to reporting without using it to improve performance. Buildings should respond to real occupancy, demand and performance rather than fixed assumptions. The objective must shift from monitoring performance to optimising it.

Deliver: Closing the Gap, in the Right Order

Delivery means prioritising capital and retrofit programmes where they will generate the greatest return. Energy improvements can reduce operating costs and support asset value, while better air quality and comfort can strengthen occupier experience, productivity and retention.

Prove: The Long Game

Proof is not a certificate or one-off audit. It is consistent, good-quality data demonstrating performance against the targets established at the outset. Over time, that evidence supports investor scrutiny, ESG disclosures and, ultimately, the credibility of a net zero pathway.

The Real Shift

None of this requires every building to become a digital twin. It requires owners to treat data as they treat capital: define what it needs to achieve, understand what is available, use it to prioritise action, deliver against that plan and prove the outcome.

ESG has become a data discipline. The businesses that recognise that will be able to answer the question investors increasingly ask: show me the proof.